How to drive in big water

[rob92761]

in 2010 about lund rebel and sold it 2015 and bought a 2015 pro guide. the pro guide cut wave/water a lot better than the rebel. i contribute that to the weight it was about 600 pound heavier. i would think glass would perform better just because it weigh more.

[Blades-n-Beads]

Whenever I see these types of threads I always find myself clicking on them right away. Always great input. Never to old to learn a few tips to get you home safe. The number one tip I could give is never venture out without knowing the predicted forcast for the day. Plan tour day according. 90% of the time you can avoid rough conditions unless you are in a very remote spot without forecasts if that's the case be prepared with essentials in case you must hold up for some lenght of time. Success comes from being prepared some times.
Blades

[hunterjoe]

I could be wrong but in really bad water I almost want to say aluminum is safer due to its generally lighter nature which makes it stay on top better. Glass tends to sit lower in the water. The ride is considerably better in glass but that doesn't mean safer. This is my opinion only.

[Jerrod]

Lots of great info here. Juls is spot on, one hand on the throttle at all times. I'm also a fan of four blade props to stay "hooked up" and think they are more responsive so if you hit the throttle you can get bow lift quicker. One thing I would add, if you are on big water and fishing way offshore, trust your gut. If that voice inside your head is telling you "maybe we should head in, it's getting rough" listen to that voice, pull the rods and head in. Don't wait. Been there, was lucky to get home. Trust your gut.

[paulie]

It's always a good reminder to have threads like this.

I'm reminded of a time in the mid 90's when me, my wife and my mother and father headed out to fish the Nipigon River.
At dawn there was a steady 25 MPH wind that was making nice rollers in the bay.
We fished the river into the afternoon. The wind increased all day.
When we got back out into the lake the waves were huge. Far to large for my 16'5" boat. We decided to go regardless.
The first leg was short to get into behind Naonan Island. Behind it the waves were reflecting in all directions and there were very shallow reef there that could tear up a boat.
Once we made it through there we were in Orient Bay in a following sea.
Once we were in the waves turning back would have made us capsize. Certainly.
I matched the speed of the waves and tried to stay on top of the waves. It was impossible. Sometimes, half the time really, we'd be down in a trough looking at a wall of water in front of us and a wall behind us. If the motor would have sputtered the following wave would have swamped us.
The waves built the farther we got into the bay.
When the Lodge was in sight the waves went crazy. They were smaller but coming in all directions.
We got to shore safely and got a severe tongue lashing from Olga, our hostess and lodge owner- she was worried sick.

Straight up: it was a miracle we made it back. To this day my dad still says "that day was impossible"

[mudpuppy]

All very good advice. Especially the take refuge when necessary.

One of our favorite day trips on Lake Michigan involves launching in Holland and fishing our way down to Saugatuck, approx. 8 miles. Then we'll go into Saugatuck and take a break and dock somewhere and maybe eat and walk the town. Then fish our way back to Holland.

One day we got almost to Saug. when the wind turned out of the North and really picked up. Lake Michigan is 307 miles long and probably we were at the 200 mile point. You get these huge rollers mixed in with the already big waves. So we made a down wind run into the channel and went into town and thought we'd wait it out. It didn't let up and it started getting late so I called a taxi cab. So for $20 or so he drove me back to my vehicle and we loaded up in the dark.

It just so happened the taxi driver was from New York and the Tigers were playing the Yankees so we had an enjoyable ride listening to the game and talking baseball. Much better than a torturous 8 mile run into the wind I think.

[cmdworker]

Originally Posted by jtulius

Really great feedback. I appreciate it. I have only had aluminum boats out in rougher water. I have run fiberglass ski boats but never in more than a little chop. Are fiberglass boats safer? I know no boat is truly safe if you drive poorly, but would it be safer in a boat that rides better? I doubt I am going to ever truly put a boat to its limit as I am terrified of being in that nasty of water. But I also want to be in the safest fishing boat possible.

I don't know if you could say one is safer than the other. When you say safer, what comes to mind for me, is would one be more likely to take on water or swamp. I would say no. As far as riding in rough water, and taking a beating, growing up in a 18 foot Aluminum full windshield Lund, and now owning a Warrior 193, there is no comparison. Where you would get the living snot beat out of you in an aluminum boat, you gently ride over the top with a big glass boat. One thing I find myself doing, if it does start blowing, and I'm looking at 3 footers and know they'll get bigger, with my Warrior, I can immediately leave, and get back to the launch at about 50mph if I choose to, and get off the water before it really gets bad. I've waited enough times to know better, and seen how ugly it can get where I live. I do also know, when it gets really really bad out there, it doesn't matter what kind of boat you're in, that's when you hide and wait if you can.

[jfaisten]

Great information -- one problem is many of us boat for a substantial amount of time before we get caught in a real bad storm. Therefore, it's important to take time and read what Juls and REW submitted and think about what your plan would be if you ended up in 6 footers. It will be a very difficult ride until you've been through it a couple times but at least you'll have a plan on how to handle the waves.
Good luck on the water to all.

[Bigstorm]

I fish on Rainy Lake in the fall (this year will be the 4th year) with a Dominator 165 and I have definitely gotten better at handling wind/waves. When the wind is blowing out of the west, northwest, east, or southeast, there can be some big rollers our there (guessing 5+ft from trough to peak). In these winds, the boat is either going right into the waves or with them. They are fairly spaced out, so I'm not going down 1 side while another is crashing over the bow. I run with the bow up usually around 9 to 11 mph. That seems to be the best speed to not beat up the boat or people inside, just take is slow and steady

[reddog]

Originally Posted by Jerrod

Lots of great info here. Juls is spot on, one hand on the throttle at all times. I'm also a fan of four blade props to stay "hooked up" and think they are more responsive so if you hit the throttle you can get bow lift quicker. One thing I would add, if you are on big water and fishing way offshore, trust your gut. If that voice inside your head is telling you "maybe we should head in, it's getting rough" listen to that voice, pull the rods and head in. Don't wait. Been there, was lucky to get home. Trust your gut.

Not much to add here that already hasn't been said. Great Info!

Jerrod has hit the nail on the head. Trust your gut. I know it takes a long time to be able to do that sometimes, but it will never fail you.

That little man standing on your shoulder, telling you to man up and stay out, needs to be drowned in the livewell most of the time. His advice is seldom useful, and most time will wreck a good day fishing at best, and get you killed at worst. It took me nearly 50 years to finally stop listening to this guy!